Usain Bolt asks Lauren Hemp for shirt after watching Man City Women beat Chelsea
Usain Bolt asked Manchester City Women's star Lauren Hemp for her shirt after watching her team claim Super League victory over Chelsea.
The eight-time Olympic gold-medallist sprinter was among the 5,222 in the stands at the Academy Stadium as City emerged 2-0 winners on Sunday 26 March.
Hemp produced the assist for Filippa Angeldahl’s opener before doubling the lead with a goal of her own, and it seems the Lioness’ efforts certainly caught Bolt’s eye.
After the contest, Hemp posted a picture on social media showing her posing with Bolt and the pair holding up her shirt, and wrote “when fast met faster, you decide which one”, accompanied by a winking face emoji.
And City defender Esme Morgan told a press conference: “She (Hemp) has been struggling with an ear infection over the last few days.
“So I was sat across from her in our pre-match meal and she was looking all down in the dumps, obviously in a lot of pain, and I was like ‘come on Lauren, you’re going to have the best game of your career today, believe, believe!’
“And she ground away, scored an amazing goal and she does graft so hard, she’s always there fighting back, pressing, battling - and I’ve heard Usain Bolt has just asked for her shirt, so she must have impressed!
“She just came to me and said ‘Es – guess who’s just asked for my shirt?’ And I was wracking my head through the Chelsea team, thinking who has she had a battle with today, they might have wanted it after.
"I was too tired to think of anyone, and she was like ‘Usain Bolt’ – I couldn’t believe it! Must be the pace!”
Manchester City handed Chelsea only their second Women’s Super League defeat of the season to draw level on points with Manchester United at the top of the table.
A post from Bolt’s Twitter account showed him posing with City striker Khadija Shaw, his fellow Jamaican who has scored 15 WSL goals this season.
Bolt was also at a match in Manchester last weekend, watching the men’s FA Cup as Manchester United, the club he supports, beat Fulham 3-1 at Old Trafford in the quarter-finals.